singulair

i am taking qvar preventative and ventolin reliever. lately my overnight breathing is causing me problems. i asked my gp for singulair but she prescribed atrovent. it does get mucus up but i am waking to cough it up. i have excersize induced asthma. it was on this site that i heard about singulair. does anyone know if its better than atrovent
maria

[ang3l_ey3s75]

Hi, I used to be on Qvar and Ventolin, I recently changed doctors and explained to my dr that I had been needing my ventolin up to 10 times per day, even if all I was doing was sitting on thr lounge. He prescribed me with the symbicort turbuhaler and I have one puff off this once a day and in the past 2 months that I have been on it, I have pretty much forgotten that I am asthmatic, even through the extreme cold in the last couple of weeks. By this time of the year I have normally suffered through Bronchitis at least twice, I am still waiting for my first one this year...
Perhaps have a chat to the DR about changing your medication, as mine said to me, we do sometimes become immune to our meds and don't realise it. I am now in a place I never imagined I would ever be.

[bsmsl]

Hi,

Trouble at night is a sign that asthma is flaring.  You should talk to your dr about modifying your controller meds and posibly changing you to something like Symbicort or Advair as the other poster suggested.

Atrovent is an anticholenergic.  All those do is dry up the mucous and drainage - post nasal drip.  I use it and love it.  Singulair is a leukotriine modifier.  That is one of the many chemicals involved in allergic reactions. As far as which is better, that would be hard to say.  They have totally different purposes.  Some people say that Singulair has little effect, while I won't miss a dose without having an attack.  However, it seems to me that a pill taken once a day over a nasal spray that has to be used every 4 hours would be  a better choice to try.  However, atrovent is very cheap compared to Singulair.

OH - I just assumed you were talking about the nasal spray Atrovent, but you could be using a neb or for now an MDI (will be off the market soon with the CFC ban).  Which are you using?

You could also try NasalCrom.  That is an OTC nasal mast cell stabilizer which works really well.

I hope that you get some relief and sleep soon.

[hava]

This exercise will help to control the asthma.You will feel the difference in three weeks.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.